When Cara finally calmed down her sister helped her off the floor and onto the couch. Tara sat there beside her rubbing her back to offer comfort. "Cara honey, you did it. I hoped you would. I knew you could, I just didn't know if you knew you could. Not everyone can find their way back." Tara told her. What was that place, Tara? It was so impossibly black. There... there was nothing... absolutely nothing." Cara shivered at the memory of being trapped there. She never fathomed that such a place could exist. "I don't know if it has a name, Cara. I haven't witnessed many that go there. The few I do know of personally... well, none of them came back." Tara looked away from her sister before standing and nervously clasping her hands. Tara began to pace back and forth in front of Cara. Something was definitely troubling her. Cara watched her sister slowly walk back and forth as she mulled something over. After a couple passes Tara stopped and turned to Cara. Her face creased with conce
"Cara, you need to wake up honey. Come on now. Wake up." Cara's mother called to her softly. Cara wasn't ready to wake up yet. She laid there stubbornly holding her eyes shut. "Cara, come on dear. It's time to wake up. You'll be late. Let's go, wake up now." Cara felt her mother gently push on her shoulder, but still she laid there refusing to open her eye's. She was tired. She wasn't ready to start her day just yet. Was it a school day? She couldn't remember. She thought it might be the weekend. But if it was the weekend, then why was mom making her wake up before she was ready? As tired as she was it had to be early? "Oh! If it's the weekend then it's my birthday!" Cara excitedly opened her eyes and sat straight up. But she was shocked to see that her mother was no where to be seen. She sat there on her bed looking around confused for a bit. Did she dream that her mother was trying to wake her up? Then she remembered that she had in fact had some crazy dreams all night. Something a
"Cara, honey, time to wake up! Come on, Cara wake up!" Cara's mother called out to her. For half a second Cara considered pretending she hadn't heard her mom. She knew it was early because she was still so tired. As she laid there holding her eyes closed and pretending to still be asleep she suddenly remembered the happenings of the day before. Her eyes flew open wide as she sat up and looked around. She was back in her room! She was in her own bed and again there was no sign of her mother. Cara didn't understand. How had she ended up in her own bed? She clearly remembered falling asleep at Kaylee's house. Slowly she pulled the covers from on top of her and saw that she was once again wearing her oversized t-shirt. She looked around her room trying to make it all make sense. Had she had a nightmare? A nightmare made more sense than what she had experienced had been real. Cautiously, she swung her legs over the side of her bed and allowed them to hang over her plush fusia colored rug
Cara approached the entrance to the hospital cautiously. She was unsure of what to expect. But also excited that this was at least something new. She half heartedly pondered exactly how she had ended up on the opposite side of town. Nothing about what she had been experiencing made any sense whatsoever to her. She was afraid to get her hopes up, but she was silently hoping that someone would be inside the hospital. Cara's heart sank as she stepped into the main lobby. One look around the atrium and beyond and it was obvious that there wasn't another soul around. She continued to walk through the large area. In the middle there was a fountain surrounded by greenery. The hospital was six stories high. Here in the atrium vines and other plants ran all the way up to the top floor with a huge sky light above the fountain. Every floor had a railing which allowed the atrium to be viewed no matter what floor you were on. All around the atrium there were small waiting areas scattered here
Making sure to maintain contact with the wall helped to keep Cara feeling grounded. She needed that tactile contact to keep her fear at bay as she navigated the darkness within the hallway. The steady sound of the beep drew her forward. It was steady and constant. Cara focused on the noise like her life depended upon the repetitive, unending noise. She slowly walked forward into the unknown sliding her hand along the wall slightly ahead of her. Ever so many feet she could feel the outline of papers or informational signs or door frames and doors. Once her hand ran across a key pad lock and she startled at the resounding noises made when she pushed the wrong buttons. After what felt like an impossibly long time her hand felt the corner of the wall. She believed she was now at the end of the hall and that this must be where another hallway began. Keeping her right hand on the corner she held up her left hand in front of her as she slowly attempted to turn down what she believed was an
Cara felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck, causing her to reach up and rub it as she opened her eyes. She began blinking repeatedly to bring everything around her back into focus. Looking around her she realized that it was a nice sunny afternoon and that she was sitting in her mother's rocking chair on her own front porch. Having nodded off, her head had been hanging in an odd way for too long causing the sharp pain. She slowly picked her head up and returned it to a more natural position. She had to move slowly because it was so stiff. Above her birds were chirping in the trees and a cool fall breeze was blowing gently through her hair. Cara loved evenings such as this. Autumn was her favorite time of year. Not just because of her birthday, either. There were so many other reasons. This time of year was still warm enough for so many different outdoor activities, but not as hot as summer. She loved pumpkin patches and craved everything pumpkin spice! Hay rides and fest
Cara, felt so disoriented. She tried to close her eyes to shut out the white light. But it was as if her eyes were stuck wide open. When she tried to cover her eyes with her hands that didn't work either. At first she thought she might be tied down. But when she attempted to move her arms she didn't feel any resistance. She tried to move her legs, but it was the same as when she tried to move her hands. There was no feeling of resistance. As best as she could tell she wasn't bound up or anything. Instead it was almost as if she just didn't have arms or legs to move. She thought it was very strange that this thought didn't fill her with panic. Instead, she really didn't seem to care very much at all. She didn't know what it all meant. Maybe she was really dead. The thought of being dead didn't make her feel afraid, or sad, or even angry at having her young life cut short. Maybe a little annoyed, but again that was mostly because she didn't know how to navigate this place. So, because
Cara's eye lids felt so heavy. She wanted to open them, but was unable to do so. She tried to sit up, but couldn't. As she laid there trying to figure out her current situation she heard the sound of a door opening and closing somewhere near her. That was followed by the sound of sneakers on linoleum. She struggled to open her eyes again. But again she failed to do so. "Hey, I see you sis", a familiar male voice said from somewhere in front of her. She was trying to place where she knew his voice from when he spoke up again. "Mom. Hey, mom. Mom, wake up. She's doing it again." Cara scrunched her brows at his words. Who was doing what? Who was that guy? "Hey! She just... she just did it again! Mom! Look!" The familiar guy's voice called out again, more excited this time. Cara heard a chair slide across a floor and the noise was then followed by the sounds of footsteps approaching her. Once more she struggled to open her eyes. Once more it was impossible to do. "Cara. Cara, honey,